Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK is actively enforcing its fishing rights.

Lord Douglas-Miller: As an independent coastal state, the UK has full responsibility over how it ensures compliance in its fisheries. All fishing vessels in UK waters are required to fish in accordance with UK laws and the conditions of their licences. As control and enforcement is a devolved matter, Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive work together to share information and ensure a coordinated approach to monitoring, compliance and enforcement across UK waters.

Wines: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Wine (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2023 permit the removal of the importer labelling requirement for wine imported directly into Northern Ireland from (1) the EU, and (2) the rest of the world.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Wine (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations 2023 apply to England only. Under the terms of the Windsor Framework, EU law applies to the import and marketing of wine in Northern Ireland. As a result, wine that is directly moved to Northern Ireland from the EU would not need an importer label, but wine imported directly to Northern Ireland from the rest of the world would need an importer to be shown. However, wine moving from GB to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme would not need to show a Northern Ireland importer.

Electronic Training Aids

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theAnimal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023to ban the use of electronic shock collars on cats and dogs in England are still due to come into force from 1 February.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Animal Welfare (Electronic Collars) (England) Regulations 2023 were considered in Grand Committee on 19 June and must be considered in the Other Place before they can come into force. The Government remains committed to banning the use of electronic shock collars in England. Parliamentary business will be announced in the usual way.

Seeds: Imports

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byLord Harlech on 4 December (HL Deb col 1352), what plans they have for (1) regulating seed treatment technology, and (2) establishing a parallel trade scheme for plant protection products.

Lord Douglas-Miller: We have implemented temporary and targeted measures to ensure farmers have continued access to seed treatments authorised for that purpose in the EU, and access to parallel products through reinstatement of permits. This is not a permanent solution, rather the measures are designed to provide manufacturers sufficient time to submit applications for authorisation of both existing and new products and for industry to increase the supply of alternative products to bolster choice and competitiveness for all pesticide users.

Animals: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of differences between the law on animal welfare in transport in Northern Ireland and that in England, and of the impact upon trade.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Northern Ireland operates under EU Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animal welfare during transport and related activities. In England, minor operability amendments have been made to this Regulation, which is now assimilated legislation and as such we do not expect there to be any impact on trade.

Legislation

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertake post-legislative review of (1) the Ivory Act 2018, (2) the Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019, (3) the Agriculture Act 2020, and (4) the Fisheries Act 2020, in line with the policy of reviewing Acts three to five years after enactment.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Together with other initiatives, post-legislative scrutiny promotes the delivery of meaningful and effective legislation. Post-legislative reviews are tailored for each Act and should be proportional in scope. The Ivory Act 2018 came into force on 6 June 2022 when the ban on dealing in elephant ivory commenced. To allow an effective assessment to be made of how the Act is working in practice, we are recommending that a post-legislative review be undertaken in due course in line with the three-to-five-year timeframe from when the Act came into effect rather than the date of Royal Assent. Defra, as the Act's enforcement authority, monitors routinely the Wild Animals in Circuses Act 2019 and will discuss the most appropriate way to review the 2019 Act with the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. Defra intends to undertake post-legislative review of the Agriculture Act 2020 by no later than November 2025. Post-legislative scrutiny of the Fisheries Act 2020 will be taken forward within the three to five years’ timeframe after Royal Assent. In planning the timing of the post-legislative scrutiny, we need to consider that the Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) required by the Act was published in November 2022, the first Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) as required by both the Act and the JFS, were published at the end of December 2023. The Act also requires review of the JFS and FMPs. We are considering the most appropriate point for the post-legislative review.

Food: Waste Disposal

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the need to invest in infrastructure and technology to support food waste valorisation to reduce (1) greenhouse gas emissions, and (2) the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Lord Douglas-Miller: New provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended by the Environment Act 2021) will require all local authorities and relevant non-domestic premises in England to arrange for the collection of food waste for recycling. Our preference is for food waste to be separately collected for treatment by anaerobic digestion which produces biogas and significant carbon savings over sending food waste to landfill. This will help achieve our commitment for at least 65% of municipal waste by weight to be recycled by 2035, with no more than 10% ending up in landfill. It will also support our commitment to explore options for the near elimination of biodegradable municipal waste to landfill from 2028. Government currently supports anaerobic digestion (AD) through the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS), which provides tariff-support for AD-produced biomethane injected into the gas grid. Through a minimum waste feedstock threshold, and lifecycle greenhouse gas criteria, the GGSS encourages the use of waste feedstocks for biomethane production due to their significantly greater upstream carbon savings compared to sending those wastes to landfill.

Food: Waste

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking topromote the adoption of cold chain methods globally to reduce food loss and waste in supply chains.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Defra is supporting action to reduce food loss internationally through the Official Development Assistance funded Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain Solutions programme. This programme promotes the adoption of sustainable cold chain solutions by providing policy and technical assistance to improve cold chain availability, and through capacity building to reduce food waste resulting from lack of efficient cold chain in countries predominantly across Africa and Asia. This programme has funded the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) – a first-of-kind Centre dedicated to sustainable cooling, cold-chain and post-harvest management, launching from March this year.

Department for Education

Turing Scheme

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce delays in decisions on applications for funding under the Turing Scheme; and what assessment have they made of the impact of thosedelays on students from poorer backgrounds.

Baroness Barran: The Turing Scheme is a demand led, competitive programme with an annual application cycle. Decisions on allocations of funding each year depends on the number of applications that are successful, and how much funding successful organisations apply for. That means the department can only confirm how much funding each organisation can receive once all applications have been assessed. In the past three academic years, successful applicant institutions have been notified of their funding allocation according to the department’s published timeline, before the start of the academic year and before the funding period for international placements commences. Once the grant agreement is in place, it is the responsibility of grant recipients to make timely requests for payments so that they can disburse funding to their participants at the point of need. All payments to grant recipients making valid payment requests have been disbursed to providers on time according to the agreed process. The department has published information for 2024/25 applications to the Turing Scheme, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/turing-scheme-apply-for-funding-for-international-placements. Schools, colleges and universities, across the UK can now review the guidance and prepare their applications for funding ahead of the application window opening in February 2024.

Children in Care: Health

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will provide a timetable for updating the Statutory Guidance on Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Looked After Children.

Baroness Barran: The government gave a commitment to update the statutory guidance ‘Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children’, and to extend it to care leavers up to age 25, in the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy for the reform of children’s social care. The update forms part of the wider mission in the strategy “to reduce the disparities in long-term mental and physical health outcomes and improve wellbeing for care-experienced people”. This commitment was reaffirmed in September 2023. Work is underway to understand how the current guidance is working in practice and where changes are necessary. Timeframes will depend on the scope of changes needed. The Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care will keep relevant stakeholders in the health and children’s social care sectors updated as the work progresses.

Schools: Transgender People

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) dates, (2) names of attendees, and (3) the groups or organisations those attendees represented, ofall meetings on or after 1 December 2020 where the draft schools guidance on gender-questioning children, published 19 December 2023, was discussed whereboth (a) representatives (including Commissioners and officers) of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and (b) representatives (including Ministers and civil servants) of the Department for Education, attended.

Baroness Barran: The department works closely with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) at both a ministerial and official level. There have been a number of meetings between Ministers and departmental officials and the EHRC since December 2020, which are listed below:The Secretary of State for Education met the noble Lady, Baroness Falkner on 2 May 2023.The noble Lady, Baroness Berridge (in her previous role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the department) met with EHRC on 10 December 2020.Departmental officials hold regular meetings with officials at the EHRC which cover the guidance and other matters. Meetings since 1 December have taken place on 27 April 2022, 23 June 2022, 29 September 2022, 24 November 2022, 9 February 2023, 27 April 2023 and 17 August 2023.

Truancy

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking tocombat increasing levels of pupil truancy in schools.

Baroness Barran: Improving attendance remains a top priority for the department as regular school attendance is important for children’s educational progress, for their wellbeing, their safeguarding and for their wider development. Truancy is subset of absence; the largest cause of persistent absence is sickness.In 2022, the department published stronger expectations of schools, trusts, governing bodies and local authorities in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance. This guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1099677/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance.pdf.The department now expects all schools to appoint a champion, and for local authorities and schools to agree individual plans for persistently absent children. In January 2024, the department launched 18 new attendance hubs, bringing the total to 32, which will see nearly 2,000 schools helped to tackle persistent absence across the country. These hubs will support schools responsible for the attendance of over a million pupils.At the same time the department also announced an extra £15 million to expand one-to-one attendance mentoring over the next three years, to help 10,000 children struggling to attend school. To help identify children at risk of persistent absence and to enable early intervention, the department has established a timelier flow of pupil level attendance data through the daily attendance data collection. 88% of state funded schools are now signed up to this.Across all phases, around 380,000 fewer pupils were persistently absent or not attending in 2022/23 than in 2021/22. Daily data for 2022/23 shows school absence of 9.3% in secondary schools, down from 10.0% absent or not attending school for covid related reasons in 2021/22. Further absence data from the school census is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.

Department for Business and Trade

Arms Trade: Human Rights

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK-manufactured weapons sold under export licences are not being used to commit or facilitate violations of international humanitarian law, as required by the Arms Trade Treaty.

Lord Offord of Garvel: The UK export licensing system is based on a thorough risk-assessment for the original export licence before the goods leave the UK. We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC), which is one of the means by which we implement a range of international legal commitments including the Arms Trade Treaty. The SELC provide a robust framework for export licence applications and require us to think hard about the impact of providing equipment and its capabilities. We will not license the export of equipment where to do so would be inconsistent with the SELC. These are not decisions we take lightly. The Business and Trade Secretary is ultimately responsible for the decision to grant or refuse an export licence in any individual case. In exercising these powers, the Business and Trade Secretary always seeks and takes into account advice from other Government Departments (OGDs), including from the FCDO.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Standards

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government when was the last year that the NHS in England achieved (1) its four-hour target for A&E waiting times, (2) its 62-day target for cancer treatment, and (3) an average waiting time for elective surgery under six months.

Lord Markham: The accident and emergency target and 62-day cancer treatment targets were last met at a national level in 2015. The average waiting time for elective surgery is currently under six months.

Health Professions: Crimes of Violence

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce rates of violence experienced by front line healthcare workers; and what assessment they have made of theeffect of such violence on staffing levels.

Lord Markham: In January 2021, and in conjunction with the Social Partnership Forum, NHS England developed and published a national Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard. This supports employers in their efforts to provide a safe and secure working environment for National Health Service staff, with a focus on risk management, training and support for those impacted by incidences of violence or aggression.£8.4 million has been invested into the ambulance service sector to explore the efficacy of body worn cameras in reducing violence and abuse. All ambulance trusts are now trialling cameras and an independent evaluation is underway with a final report expected towards the end of 2024.In 2022, the Government legislated through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act to double the sentence for assaults on emergency workers to a maximum of two years.We do not currently have a national mechanism to assess the levels of violence and aggression in the NHS on staffing levels. NHS employing organisations have a duty of care to support the health and safety of their staff and they do collect data on incidents. This is used to inform local strategies for reducing and dealing with violence and aggression.The NHS Staff Survey does ask questions relating to incidences of violence, harassment, and abuse. The 2022 NHS Staff Survey indicated that 14.7% of NHS staff have self-reported that they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives, or other members of the public in the last 12 months.

Fractures: Health Services

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to comments by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care in the Sunday Express on 20 August 2023, when they plan to publish details on ways to establish more fracture liaison services.

Lord Markham: Fracture liaison services (FLS) are commissioned by integrated care boards which are well placed to make decisions according to local need. NHS England is supporting requests from health systems to introduce FLS and other secondary fracture prevention services, including through the Falls and Fragility Fracture Audit Programme.The Government recognises the value of quality-assured secondary fracture prevention services, including Fracture Liaison Services. In the online-only Major Conditions Strategy: Case for change and our strategic framework, we set out that we will look to, together with NHS England, explore supporting the provision of fracture liaison services. The intention is to publish the Major Conditions Strategy early this year.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of NHS acute hospital trusts currently have average waiting times for elective surgery over six months; and what are the names of those trusts.

Lord Markham: 18 out of the 135, or 13.3%, of National Health Service trusts in England currently have an average waiting time for elective surgery of over six months. This has been defined as those NHS trusts with a median wait time for patients with a decision to admit that is over 26 weeks. Due to the size of the data, a spreadsheet is attached which includes a table listing the average waiting time for NHS trusts in England.HL1546 - Trust Median Wait Times (xlsx, 19.1KB)

Osteoporosis: Fractures

Baroness Altmann: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ask the Royal Osteoporosis Society to establish ‘lived experience’ focus groups for people with Osteoporosis to inform their Major Conditions Strategy; and what plans they have toinclude the issue of bone fractures in the Strategy.

Lord Markham: The Major Conditions Strategy will look to tackle the six major condition groups including musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. In August 2023, we set out our initial plans in the online-only Major Conditions Strategy:Case for change and our strategic framework including that we will look to, together with NHS England, explore supporting the provision of fracture liaison services.There are no current plans to ask the Royal Osteoporosis Society to establish ‘lived experience’ focus groups for people with Osteoporosis. However, the Department has worked closely with stakeholders to develop the Major Conditions Strategy including people with lived experience and organisations representing patients, carers, and conditions. This includes engagement with the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance, an umbrella body bringing together patient organisations and professional bodies representing the breadth of MSK health. The development of the strategy has also been informed by the Call for Evidence, which received over 400 responses from both individuals and organisations. Our intention is to publish the Major Conditions Strategy early this year.

Operating Theatres: Fires

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the main causes of surgical fires and burns across NHS England.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of surgical fires and burns on the length of patients' hospital stays.

Lord Markham: Surgical fires and burns occur in, on, or around a patient undergoing surgery. Risk factors include use of ignition sources, for example, electrical surgical equipment and lasers, and fuel sources, for example, alcohol preparation solutions that are accidentally allowed to pool on or under the patient.Any unexpected or unintended incident which could have or did lead to harm to one or more patients can be recorded on the Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service, to support local and national learning. This would include surgical fires or burns. Providers are encouraged to foster a positive safety culture among their staff, and to ensure an appropriate local focus on incident recognition, recording, and response.Recording onto LFPSE is a voluntary process, except where reporting to NHS England fulfils duties for other statutory mandatory requirements, such as reporting notifiable incidents to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). NHS England shares all such data with the CQC. Notifiable incidents include events resulting in serious harm or the death of a service user, and therefore the most serious surgical fires or burns are subject to mandatory reporting. However, providers are encouraged to record all patient safety incidents, irrespective of the level of harm, to support local and national learning.We are informed by NHS England that no assessment has been made of the impact of surgical fires or burns on the length of patients' hospital stays.

Infant Mortality

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion in the 2020 final progress report of the Each Baby Counts programme run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists that7 per cent of parents in 2018 were not invited to local reviews into still births, deaths of babies who died within seven days of birth, or births of babies with severe brain injury.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion in the 2020 final progress report of the Each Baby Counts programme run by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, based on reviewers' assessments, that 74 per cent of babies might have had a different outcome if the NHS had learntlessons and improved outcomes.

Lord Markham: The Department has introduced several initiatives which seeks to ensure that parents are engaged in reviews following adverse outcomes, and that lessons are learnt within the National Health Service.The Perinatal Mortality Review Tool (PMRT) provides objective and standardised reviews for bereaved parents about why their baby died. It also aims to ensure local and national learning to improve care and ultimately prevent future baby deaths. All bereaved parents have the option to be involved in a high-quality review of the death of their baby via the PMRT. The fifth annual Perinatal Mortality Review Tool report highlighted that parental engagement with the PMRT has improved. 96% of parents in the United Kingdom were told that a review of their care would take place. Parents’ perspectives of the care they received was reported as having been sought from 95% of these parents. A copy of the report is attached.The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) Programme conducts single-case investigations into specific cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths and brain injuries. It is within the remit of the programme to analyse data to identify key trends and provide system wide learning to the health system. Parental engagement is a key aspect of the investigations conducted by the MNSI.To improve maternity services in England, NHS England published the Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services in March 2023. The plan sets out how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. A copy of the plan is attached.HL1516, HL1517 - Three year delivery plan (pdf, 876.4KB)

Abortion: Disclosure of Information

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 8 January (HL1277), why advice from third parties, including that from abortion providers, was not sought prior to the decision not to release the abortion statistics comparing data from the Department of Health and Social Care’s Abortion Notification System and the Hospital Episode Statistics on an annual basis; and what was the evidential rationale for that decision.

Lord Markham: To consider the completeness of abortion complications data submitted via abortion notifications, the Department committed to publishing a one-time analysis comparing data from its Abortion Notification System and the Hospital Episode Statistics. The Department is inviting views from third parties on abortion statistics for England and Wales, including the future publication of abortion complications data, via an online user engagement survey as well as via email. We welcome responses from abortion providers and all interested parties on this matter.

Malnutrition and Preventive Medicine

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost and resource savings to NHS England that could be realised through (1) a broader focus on preventative healthcare, and (2) a reduction in malnutrition across thepopulation.

Lord Markham: There is good evidence that preventative action can benefit individuals and promote efficient and effective use of National Health Service resources. This is an important factor in Government’s determination to tackle the drivers of preventable poor health, such as smoking and obesity.Efforts to prevent malnutrition and to treat it early could potentially have major effects in reducing both the clinical and economic burden of malnutrition. We know better diagnosis and detection are key. This is why we continue to train all health staff to spot the early warning signs of malnutrition so effective treatment can be put in place. Everyone from the health and social care professionals to individuals in the wider community have a role to play.

Abortion: Drugs

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government to whatthey attribute the increase in the number of paper HSA4 forms being submitted in respect of information on medical abortions since the relevant amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 in 2022.

Lord Markham: The increase in the number of paper HSA4 forms in recent years is due to a number of factors, including an ongoing trend of increasing numbers of abortions performed annually since 2017. The Department has worked with abortion providers to encourage the submission of notifications electronically.

Abortion: Drugs

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what methodology they are using to measure the efficacy and impact on women’s health of the 2022 changes to the Abortion Act 1967, permitting early medical termination of pregnancytaking place in the patient's home.

Lord Markham: The Department works closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission and abortion providers to ensure that abortions, including home use of medical abortion pills, are provided safely in accordance with the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967. Recently published data does not show an increase in abortion complications following the introduction of home use. The complication rates for Abortion Notification System and Hospital Episodes Statistics data remains similar both before and after the introduction of home use of early medical abortion pills.

Dentistry: Registration

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable faster registration tracks for dentists who have been trained in other countries.

Lord Markham: Currently, to be entered into the dentists register, an individual must hold a recognised United Kingdom dentistry qualification; a European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss qualification recognised under European Union exit standstill arrangements; or they must pass the Overseas Registration Exam or License in Dental Surgery exam. Prior to January 2001, the General Dental Council (GDC) also recognised dentistry qualifications from a limited number of dental schools in specific countries outside the EEA, which is published on the GDC’s website in an online-only format.Under legislative changes that came into force in March 2023, the GDC now has greater flexibility to amend routes to registration for dentists with overseas qualifications, including the power to recognise qualifications as sufficient for registration without further assessment. We will continue to discuss with the GDC how they can best utilise this new flexibility to enable suitably qualified dentists to enter the workforce as quickly and efficiently as possible.

NHS Low Income Scheme: Chronic Illnesses

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote (1) the NHS Low Income Scheme to chronically ill patients, including Hidradenitis suppurativa patients, and (2) the use of pre-payment prescription certificates to chronically ill patients, including Hidradenitis suppurativa patients.

Lord Markham: The NHS Business Services Authority and the National Health Service promote the NHS Low Income Scheme and prescription pre-payment certificates (PPCs) to professionals and patients. It does this through social media, online resources, media releases and healthcare bulletins.Our extensive arrangements to help people afford NHS prescription charges, means that almost 89% of prescription items in England are already provided free of charge. For those not exempt from charges, PPCs can be used to cap costs at approximately £2 a week for regular prescriptions.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Prescriptions

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to including Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) to the list of specified medical conditions qualifying for free prescriptions, given the high out-of-pocket costs for HS patients.

Lord Markham: While we are not considering adding this or other conditions to the list of exemptions for free prescriptions, there are extensive arrangements currently in place to ensure that prescriptions are affordable for patients with hidradentis suppurativa.Around 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and extensive arrangements are already in place to help those with the greatest need. Eligibility depends on the patient’s age, whether they are in qualifying full-time education, whether they are pregnant or have recently given birth, or whether they are in receipt of certain benefits or a war pension.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children under the age of 18 were treated by NHS England for vaping-related disorders in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, and (3) 2023; and what assessment they have made of the need to reduce vaping by the under-18s, including measures to make vapes available only on prescription.

Lord Markham: NHS England recently published data on vaping related disorders as either the primary or secondary diagnosis. Data shows 46 people 19 years old and under were admitted for a vaping related disorder in 2022/23, down from 54 in 2021/22. Due to the size of the data, a copy of the full data set is attached. On 12 October 2023, we launched a public consultation, seeking views on creating the first smokefree generation, our plans to crack down on youth vaping by reducing the appeal, availability and affordability of vapes to our children, and options to ensure the law is enforced. The consultation closed on 6 December 2023, and we will respond in the coming weeks ahead of the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. There are no medicinally licensed vaping products approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. As such, the Government is not currently considering making vaping products prescription-only.HL1581 - Vaping related disorders - full data (xlsx, 37.8KB)

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Palace of Westminster: Postal Services

Lord Norton of Louth: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how many items ofpostal correspondence were received in the Palace of Westminster in 2023; and of those, how many were received in the House of Lords.

Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. 721,005 mail items were received on the Parliamentary Estate in 2023. The Administration does not count which House each item goes to but estimates that approximately 15 per cent of these items were destined for the House of Lords. These figures do not include courier items or internal mail.Please note that this figure refers to the whole Parliamentary Estate, not just the Palace of Westminster.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Affordable Housing

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for establishing a commission on affordable housing to set levels of grant for affordable housing based on expert projections.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government does not set grant rates for affordable housing in our Affordable Homes Programme. Grant rates are assessed on a scheme-by-scheme basis and are benchmarked against national, local and scheme type averages to ensure bids are competitive on both costs and outputs. It is right that we keep grant rates flexible to best support the sector to deliver a wide variety of interventions, whilst also ensuring that our assessment criteria drives good value for money.

Social Rented Housing

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thecase for10-year rent settlements for social homes to create certainty for social housing providers.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The government recognises the value of longer-term rent certainty for Registered Providers of social housing, and continues to support the principle that social housing rents should be index-linked over the long-term. We will consult on future social housing rent policy in due course. That policy will need to strike an appropriate balance between protecting tenants, protecting taxpayers by limiting the costs associated with social housing rents, supporting investment in and management of social housing and supporting the delivery of new homes.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobcentres: Staff

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thecase forappointing specialist single parent work coaches within Jobcentre Plus to ensure that single parents can access tailored and relevant advice on childcare, benefits and appropriate flexible job opportunities that are available in the local area.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The department keeps the Work Coach role under regular review, to ensure they are well equipped to support a range of claimants, including single parents. All Work Coaches undergo a learning journey that equips them with the tools, knowledge, skills, and behaviours to enable them to support individuals moving closer to work. This includes childcare modules to support working single parents. All claimants are set requirements that take into account their circumstances and capability, including caring responsibilities, health conditions and disabilities. These requirements will be tailored by the Work Coach and will be achievable and realistic, and agreed within the Claimant Commitment. Work Coaches are also signposted to tools, guidance, and websites (internal and external), so that they have access to the most up to date advice and expertise to help them better support claimants, including single parents.

Poverty: Children

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are they taking to prevent children falling into poverty during future economic crises, in response to the conclusions of the UNICEFreport Child Poverty in the Midst of Wealth, published on 6 December 2023.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UNICEF reportChild Poverty in the Midst of Wealth, published on 6 December 2023, and its finding that the UK has seen the greatest increase in child poverty out of the 40 countries featured in the report; and what steps they are taking to prevent a further increase.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The most recent available data, covering 2021/22, shows that relative poverty rates for children remain unchanged since 2009/10. On an absolute basis, which better represents changes to actual living standards, the rate after housing costs has fallen by 5 percentage points across the same period. There were 400,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs in 2021/22 compared to 2009/10. The Government is committed to reducing poverty, including child poverty, and supporting low-income families. From April, and subject to Parliamentary approval, working age benefits will rise by a further 6.7% in line with inflation and the increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rates will give further help to 1.6 million low-income households. The Government has always believed that work is the best way to help families improve their financial circumstances. This approach is based on clear evidence about the important role that work - particularly full-time – can play in reducing the risks of poverty. In the financial year 2021 to 2022, children living in households where all adults work were around 5 times less likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those living in workless households. This is why, with over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on providing parents with the support they need to move into and progress in work. Parents on Universal Credit who are moving into work or increasing their hours can now get additional support with upfront childcare costs, and we have also increased the childcare costs that they can claim back by nearly 50%, up to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 for two or more children.To support those who are in work, on 1 April 2024, the Government will increase the National Living Wage (NLW) for people aged 21 and over by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour, an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earning of a full-time worker on the NLW.The Government is providing support worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25 to help households with the high cost of living, this clearly shows that we will always act to ensure that the most vulnerable get the support they need, and we will continue to keep all our existing programmes under review in the usual way.

Northern Ireland Office

Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU): Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the caseAngesom v the Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] NIKB 102, whatassessment they have made of the finding in paragraphs 86 to 103 concerning the impact of Article 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on immigration in Northern Ireland.

Lord Caine: The Government is aware of the judgement in relation to this case. Article 2 of the Windsor Framework applies in respect of a diminution of a right, safeguard or equality of opportunity provision or protection covered by the relevant chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, as a result of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The Charter of Fundamental Rights does not form part of domestic law anywhere in the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Treasury

Revenue and Customs: Criminal Investigation

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what access fraud investigators in the Inland Revenue have to individual bank accounts, and what discussions they have had with banks about broadening that access beyond individuals already suspected of tax fraud.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has long-established legislative powers to access information on bank accounts for a number of its functions, including the investigation of tax fraud. Any extension of these powers would be subject to full public consultation. A HMRC officer may require information and examine documents from third parties, including banks and other financial institutions, using the information and inspection powers in Schedule 36 of Finance Act 2008. An officer can require information and documents that are not unduly onerous for the institution to provide or produce and are reasonably required for the purpose of checking the tax position or collecting a tax debt of the taxpayer. These civil information powers may be used by investigators that suspect fraud.[1] In the course of conducting Criminal Investigations into suspected fraud, HMRC officers might require access to information contained in bank accounts. To obtain the account information the officer makes an application to a Crown Court to seek a Court Order, if it is granted it will be served on the bank. Granted Court Orders are specific and limit access to the accounts and date range that has been granted by the Court[2].  [1] https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/compliance-handbook/ch23000, https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/compliance-handbook/ch220000,[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-investigation/criminal-investigation

Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of motorway service stations have at least six rapid or ultra-rapid chargers for electric vehicles.

Lord Davies of Gower: There are now more than 260 ultra-rapid (150kW) chargepoints, and more than 480 open-access (can be used with any electric vehicle) rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid chargepoints at motorway service areas in England in total. The Department is in the process of collecting data from motorway service operators on the total number of chargepoints installed at motorway service areas by the end of last year.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Hugh Powell

Lord Singh of Wimbledon: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there were grounds for Hugh Powell to recuse himself from the Heywood Review into allegations of UK involvement in the Indian Army's operation against the Golden Temple considering his father's position as the Prime Minister's private secretary at the time of the operation.

Lord Singh of Wimbledon: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis the Sikh community was not informed in 2014 that Hugh Powell was conducting the Heywood Review into allegations of UK involvement in the Indian Army's operation against the Golden Temple, with particular regard to the fact that his father was the Prime Minister's private secretary at the time of the operation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Heywood review of 2014 worked specifically to establish facts about the UK advice and assistance to the Indian Government during Operation Blue Star 1984. It concluded that UK assistance was advisory, ended several months before the operation and had limited impact on the tragic events that followed. The UK Government has concluded that there is no basis to challenge the conclusions of the 2014 review or to review the broader decisions of the government of the day.